Fading.HS.

13.

Rapidly we approached Harry's house. The car stopped and he looked at me and immediately took a breath before speaking,

"My mums still at work but i'll text her to tell her you're staying and Gemma's at a friends" my only reply was a nod and a smile.

He led me inside; with no objections I followed, the entrance was practically glowing and as I step foot into the property I felt a warmth which wasn't the temperature. Instantly he directed me towards the sofa and put the tv on, then handing me the remote he began to speak gently,

"I'll go make us cups of tea" He abruptly left but I could still hear him, he hummed under his breath as he made the tea, he was sweet and thoughtful and I couldn't get him out of my head. I could hear his gentle breaths and all I could think about how desperately I hoped he would remain alive, after loosing as many people as I have it would have been hard to loose another, it's always hard to say goodbye to someone indefinitely but I prayed I wouldn't have to say goodbye to Harry.

He walked in polkadot mugs in hand and sat beside me,

"You know a problem shared is a problem halved" he stated, however this was not true.

"Geez you sound like my mother" I used to hear her say this all the time and I never thought one day I'd feel as desperate for her to say it again.

"What was she like?" his question shocked me but I wanted to talk about her. I thought for a while then began speaking,

"She was smart, but she wasn't good at science or maths, she was smart in a way where she always knew what to do, all the time, she didn't even seem to think about it, she just had a solution to every problem or at least it felt like that. She was't like other mum's; my mum never tried to stop me dying my hair or get a piercing because she believed I should be free to make my own decisions"

"She must have been great"

"She was. It's like I always knew no matter what I did she'd always be on my side, even if I was wrong. Same with my dad, they were great people" Reminiscing was usually something I tried to avoid but for some reason today it wasn't joined with an over whelming feeling of loss, it was nice to feel something good.

"So how are Jenny and Kevin, are they nice to you?" his question made me shift in my seat, and my feeling of joy was replaced by something which resembled fear.

"Jenny's alright, she's distant, maybe even emotionless" I prayed he wouldn't pry more but obviously he did.

"Yeah, and what about Kevin, how's he?" his question stopped my heart for a few seconds and I could feel myself starting to look paler.

"He's fine" the expression on my face was blank but my eyes made it clear of my feelings, after all eyes are the window to the soul.

"What's wrong with him?" I gave him a look to stop but he continued to wait, this was one thing I refused to cave into.

I did the only thing I could think to do, I turned the tv up, loud and pretended to be deeply invested in the show, the show however happened to be bargain hunt but my eyes did not leave the screen.

He began scrolling through his phone, I was tagged in countless memes and videos, in a way I think he was trying to irritate me until I gave in, little did he know I live for memes.

...

Many hours passed and we remained glued to the sofa, we talked about lots of things, we spoke more about my mother and our childhood vacations, and for once everything felt easy. Our conversation was stopped as I heard the front door open, shortly after the living room door opened and a friendly looking lady's head was visible. I hadn't anticipated the fact I would have to meet Harry's mother. I looked at her like a scared sheep stuck in traffic, the figure began to speak,

"Hello dear it's lovely to meet you, I'm Anne" I straitened my posture and did my best to look happy,

"Hi i'm Annora, Harry's told me lots about you, you did a good job with him" I embarrassed myself with the second part. It was greeted with a laugh from Harry and a smile from Anne,

"I'm making pasta as I haven't got much time, is that alright with you Annora?"

"Yeah thats great thank you" I replied sweetly

"The truth is I have a date, honestly i'm usually a domestic Goddess" she left the room with a smile.

"Your mums nice" I stated,

"Yeah she is" he softly replied.

...

About two hours had passed and honestly having someone else cook food for me was great. Harry's mother had been gone over an hour and for some reason I worried for her, datings not like it used to be and Harry told me she's met the guy on the internet, you don't know who you'll meet these days through the internet. Harry picked up on my worried expression,

"Whats wrong?"he said casually, probably used to my drama,

"You should text your mum, check she's alright"

"I'm sure she's fi..." his sentence was cut short as Anne opened the door and entered the house, she barged in and began frantically speaking,

"He was such a creep, honestly are manners dead? It took me ages to get ready and he didn't even compliment my outfit, I don't know why I bother",

Harry shot up immediately rushing to her flustered side,

"I'm sure he wasn't that bad, what happened?"

Anne began to speak,

"He was rude and didn't even offer to pay for the meal, sure I don't mind going dutch but seriously he just sat and waited for me to pay. Not to mention his picture was at least ten years old".

Harry hugged his mother in a warm embrace before speaking,

"Come on you'll meet someone, theres plenty of fish in the sea" he said desperately trying to comfort his mother who's annoyance increased by the second. She waited for a second before quietly speaking,

"Yeah but not like your father". she said before walking away. Harry looked as though he was contemplating following her but decided against it at the last second.

"Do you need to go after her" I asked actually feeling concerned,

"What can I say? I can't make it better she still loves him and he doesn't feel the same" Harry looked sad and I hated that, softly I put an arm around him and prayed that he'd be okay. 

...

We spoke for a while, pointless chit chatter some would say. But somehow every word that crept from his lips impacted me in some way.

 It was almost ten thirty and we'd just gone upstairs, I had changed in the bathroom before returning to Harry's room. The pull out sofa was all set, I was wearing a cute pink nightie from Victoria's Secret which I'm not sure why I brought, I was about to get into bed when Harry stopped me, he spoke with a serious tone,

"Nora what is that on your arms and legs?" He came closer inspecting my arms.

How had I not noticed the bruises which had formed over night my face grew red, 

"I'm not sure, um, it must have been when I fell out of bed last night" he looked at me like I was idiotic and lifted my dress about an inch revealing scratches up my legs, that amount of contact made me shudder, I felt so violated but not just by Kevin by Harry, this was my secret which I wanted to take to the grave. He definitely knew, I could see it in his eyes,my eyes however were not so clear they were watery, with all of me I tried not to cry, I really did but I couldn't help it.

We looked at each other for a second and my heart shattered, he could never like someone as messed up as me.